Coin-freed apparatus



March 1954 w. A. TRAVERS ETAL 2,672,514

COIN-FREED APPARATUS Filed Oct. 30, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l Alva ATTORA/EYS March 16, 1954 w. A. TRAVERS ET AL 2,672,514

COIN-FREED APPARATUS Filed Oct. 30. 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 [W Mi /V7041? w. A. 77M VERS H. f. J- 8075f wit 4% M nrramviro Patented Mar. 16, 1954 "Walter-A." Travers'- and Hugh Ernest James But- "ler,' L'ondon,England; said Travers assignor to Automatic' Telephone & Electric Company Limited;LiverpooL England, a British company, -zand'said-Butler assignor to Hall Telephone Accessories Limited, 1 London; England, a' British company I Appli'ca tionflotober so, 1950;seriai No. 192,928 (Claimspriority, application Great Britain November 5,- 1949 El -Claims. -(Cl.- 179 6'.3)

-"The"present"invention relates to coin freed apterates andis' more' particularly concerned with "coin freed apparatus for "permitting the com- "pletion' of an electrical circuitfforinstance for controlling the reception of radio or 'other'entertainm'ent programmesin hotel bedrooms.

Time switch-controlled devices of this type are known whichin response to the inserti'on of a coimenable a radio programme to be received 'during'a predetermined period. These are however relatively expensive and it is the chief object of the invention to provide a device giving similarlyeifective'facilitieswhich is both inexpensive and simple -to=maintain and operate.

According to the-invention a controlunit' for controlling the supply of audio frequency currents-"to'a loudspeaker inresponse to the insertion of'a coinor the like isarranged so that the presence of the coin serves to permit the effective movement of the externalopera'ting-member of a switchingmember which is thereupon lcckedin operated position until released by the operation of a release member.

The invention will be better-understood from the following description of one method of carrying'it into eiiect which is given by way of example and-should be takenin conjunction with theacco'mpanyin'g drawings comprising Figs.- 1 4. Of 'these,-Fig. 1-is affront elevation of the controlunit. Fig.-'2""is--a"side eIeVationQ'FigQ-3 is-a section-along the lirle' Y-"Y in Fig.2 showing the mechanism mounted on the front cover, and-Fig. 4'-'is"-a circuit" diagram showing the electricalconsections.

It is assumed fthat the"control-unit -isused in association with loudspeakers in 'ho'tel bedrooms and is adapted 'in' response to the insertion of a suitable coin; for instance a sixpencefto enable any one'of-a number of distributed radio-or 'other programmes to be Qbtain'ed-as'and when'required. Each control unit is assumed to be suitably zn'o'iinted on the wall or other vertical surface and the-front face carries the volume control knob I3,* the programme selection knob l4 and a knob 22 which in response to" the insertion of a sixpence in the slot 2| may be moved to the right in'the slot 23 in order to render the service operative. In the normal position of the device the knob 22 is locked so that it can perform only a limited movement and the loudspeaker is inoperative. The eifect of inserting a sixpence is to free'the control knob 22 which may then be slidtothe'right where it is retained in'position 'and'has the effect or altering the electrical connections so that the various" radio programmes are available under control time knob M. The

control knob 22 may be subsequentlytripped by the chambermaid or other hotel servant 'in a manner which willbe described subsequently and it is then restored to its initial position by a spring and the radio programme is cut off andis only again available in response to the insertion of another coin. Considering now more particularly Fig. 3, the main'casing Ill of the control unit is provided with a cover I I which is secured thereto bymeahs of upwardly extending lugs on the brackets 15 and i6 secured to the cover whichenga'gefin corresponding slots on the casing. The coveris provided with an opening for a' coin drawer 12 which is fitted with a suitable lock and is" guided on the channel member I! secured to the casing. The member I! is also provided with an'upstanding lug lflprovided with a threaded hole to take a screw 89 (visible in Fig. 1 where the front of the drawer isshown' broken away). "It will be seen therefore that to dismantle the equipment' it is necessary first to unlock and remove the drawer I2 whereuponaccess can be obtained i to the screw Hi. When this is removed the lower portion of the cover may be swung forward and upward so that the lugs'on brackets i5 and-i6 disengage their corresponding slots and the cover may therefore be removed.

The main moving portion'of the mechanism is a slide member 24 to whichthe operating knob 22 is secured by the nut 25. The right-handend of the sliding member 24' in Fig. 3 is "provided with a cut-out portion 26 which cooperates with apillar 2T toensure that the slide perforrnsfa rectilinear motion as determined also by knob 22 and slot 23. The slide is normally urged to the right in'Fig. 3 by a helical spring 28 which is anchored to the bracket lii an'd at the other end is secured to a post 29' on the slide. This post also carries an insulating bush, which is not shown in the; drawing, for operating the contacted springs-MC' 'when the slide is moved to the left. A member 30 attached to the slide forms' acoin recess and is provided with a top-member 3 l and walls'32 defining therecess. A fiatmember 33 mounted close to the slide'memberM and pivoted at 34 serves to trap an inserted coin and'this member is urged upwardsby the spring 35"mounted on the knob 22, the upward movement of the member 33 being limited by the member 30. The member 24 also carries at'its extremity a bellcrankflever 36 whichis pivoted on the pin 3,? and is" normally urged in" an antigclockwise direction member 40 having a tooth 4| arranged to cooperate with the locking lever 42 which is pivoted about the point 43. This locking lever is urged in an anticlockwise direction by the helical spring 40 one end of which is hooked round the lever while the other bears against the post 21. movement of the locking lever is limited by the stop member 45 secured to the cover. The insulating bush 58 seen in Fig. 2 indicates the entry for the loudspeaker and programme supply leads.

Considering now the operation of the device, in the normal or inoperative position, the various parts occupy the positions shown and under these conditions only limited movement of the slide member 24 by means of the knob 22 is possible since the tooth ll shortly engages the upstanding edge 55 of the tooth d9 on the locking member 42. When however a suitable coin is in serted it depresses the member 33 so, as to trap the coin and the lower edge of the coin engages with the inclined face at of the locking member. If the knob 22 is now moved to the right as seen in Fig. l, the coin also will be moved to the left as seen in Fig. 3 and its lower edge engaging with the inclined face 46 of the locking member will cause this member to be rotated anticlockwise about the pivot 23 so that the tooth 49 is moved out of the path of the tooth 4|. As the movement of the member it proceeds, tooth 4| passes to the other side of the tooth 4S and the coin engages the edge M of the locking member and subsequently passes clear of the vertical portion 48. It is then no longer supported and falls into the drawer 12 while the locking member, being no longer pressed downwards, returns to its original position as limited by the stop 45 so that the tooth 4| then engages with the vertical face 5| of the tooth d9 and the slide member 24 is prevented from returning to normal under the action of spring 28. The insulating bush carried by pin 29 will now have engaged the long middle spring of the springset MC and thus changed over the connections as will be appreciated from Fig. 4.

In this figure it is assumed that three different programmes are available over the pairs of conductors P|, P2 and P3 which are connected respectively to positions 1, 2 and 3 of the programme switch PS provided with wipers PSI and PS2. The control unit is also intended to house a matching transformer TR. which is not shown in Fig. 3 and this extends to the volume control rheostat VC and so to the loudspeaker by way of the bracketed leads LS. It will be seen that in the normal position the contacts MC short-circuit the primary winding of the transformer and that a similar state of afiairs existsafter operation of contacts MC as long as the programme switch PS is in the ofi position. As this switch is rotated to connect up an appropriate programme, the supply leads Pl, P2 or P3 are connected through to the primary of the transformer TR so that the loudspeaker is energised accordingly as determined by the setting of the volume control rheostat V0. The user may or course switch off the programme by turning the switch PS to the off position and may obtain programme service subsequently without inserting any further coin provided the period covered by the original coin insertion has not yet expired. The length of this period is clearly at the discretion of the hotel management but for the service visualised it will generally be convenient to re- The i store the control devices each day. The collection of the inserted coins can be effected at some considerably longer interval as is found desirable.

It will be appreciated that the position of the knob 22 forms a visible indication of whether the device has been used so that the hotel housekeeper or chambermaid can readily see whether any restoring operation is needed. Preferably this would normally be done round about breakfast time each morning when servicing of the bedrooms would be necessary in any event. Restoration of the device to normal is efiected by means of the fingerplate 52 which covers a hole 53 the wall of the casing In. The finger plate is located by two studs passing through holes therein, the lower one 54 carrying a nut 55 which serves to retain a bowed spring 56 by means of which the fingerplate is normally urged into contact with the casing so as to close the hole 53. The upper stud carries a buffer 51 limiting the movement of the fingerplate when it is depressed against the action of the spring 56. If this is done while the control unit is in operated position, the turned-over end of the fingerplate 52 engages the vertical arm of the bell crank lever 36 and causes the horizontal arm to engage with the edge 58 of th locking member 42 and move it downwards. Thereupon the tooth 49 is moved out of engagement with the tooth 4| on the slide member 24 and this member is moved back to normal position by the action of spring 28. The springs MC are then restored to normal and effective movement of the slide member is again prevented until another coin has been inserted.

Alternatively a key-operated releasing device could be provided but this involves additional complication and if the releasing arrangement is concealed and not obviously accessible there is little likelihood of the user operating it inadvertently and if he does so by tampering with the unit he has only himself to blame if he loses his programme prematurely. A further alternative which might be iustified in some circumstances would be to have the switches tripped electrically by an unlocking impulse sent over the whole programme distribution network from a central control position, for instance the main distribution point. The device thereupon remains in the inoperative position until it is again rendered operative by the insertion of a further com.

Periodically the cashier or similar hotel om cial will visit the various bedrooms to collect the coins stored in the coin receptacles.

The invention therefore provides a satisfac-- tory way of giving a facility which is often desired without involving the hotel management in comparatively heavy expense for installation maintenance or operation. 1

We claim: 1. Switching apparatus of the coin freed type adapted to complete selected circuits of a pro-;

gramme distribution device comprising incombination, a casing having at least a pair of openings therein, a slide disposed internally of the casing and guided for reciprocating motion relative thereto, an operating link secured to the slide and extended through one of the openings in the casing to terminate in a control element, resilient means for maintaining the slide in a nor-p mally inoperative position, a set of electrical contacts in the circuits of the programme distribution system disposed internally of the casingl .means effective to complete the circuitsthrou'ghl:

the contacts when the slide is moved to its operative position, locking means for securing the slide against movement from its inoperative position and from its operative position, means responsive to the insertion of a suitable coin to render the locking means ineffective to manual movement of the slide to the operative position through the medium of the control element, release means accessible through the other opening in the casing to render the locking means ineffective to return movement of the slide to the inoperative position under the influence of the resilient means, sound translating means, a matching transformer means for supplying the sound translating means with audio-frequency voltage, connections extending from the circuits of the programme distribution system via said contacts to the audio-frequency supplying means whereby audio-frequency voltages may be applied to the sound translating means during the interval when the slide is disposed in its operative position, said last named means including a switch normally connected to short circuit the transformer and to relieve the short circuit upon movement of the slide to its operative position.

2. Apparatus for actuating a switch in a programme distribution system in response to the insertion of a suitable coin comprising a frame, a slide guided for bilateral rectilinear motion relative to the frame, said slide having an operative and an inoperative position, an operating link secured to the slide for manual movement of the slide from the inoperative to the operative position, resilient means normally maintaining the slide in the inoperative position, a locking lever pivotally fastened to the frame in a position adjacent the slide, further resilient means biasing the locking lever in the direction of the slide, a tooth and a camming surface disposed on the locking lever, a further tooth disposed on the slide in a position for abutting engagement with the locking lever tooth thereby to prevent movement of the slide to the operative position, coin receiving and trapping means disposed in proximity with the camming surface of the locking lever whereby a suitable coin is adapted to be held in contact with said camming surface anad moved by the slide through manual operation of the operating link to partially revolve the locking lever and release the slide for movement to the operative position during which movement the coin is disengaged from the camming surface to permit the locking lever to return through the action of said further resilient means with the tooth thereof engaging the tooth of said slide to lock the latter in the operative position, a set of electrical contacts for the switch, means effective with the slide in the operative position to close the contacts, and means for releasing the slide to permit it to return to the inoperative position under the influence of said first mentioned resilient means.

WALTER A. TRAVERSE}. HUGH ERNEST JAMES BUTLER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 547,405 Thompson Oct. 1, 1895 837,256 Baird Nov. 27, 1906 1,146,620 I-Iauss July 13, 1915 1,362,464 Baum et al. Dec. 14, 1920 1,628,126 Dieterich May 10, 1927 1,702,411 Olsem Feb. 19, 1929 1,846,611 Riegel Feb. 23, 1932 1,984,536 Melick Dec. 18, 1934 

